Composite seat cushion
Designs and methods are provided for a composite seat cushion comprising a molded portion made of a resilient foam material, having a sculpted top surface, and a bottom surface with a cavity therein. The composite seat cushion may further comprise an insert made of a viscoelastic foam material filling the cavity in the bottom of the molded portion.
1. An insert molding process for fabricating an energy attenuating composite foam seat cushion made of an elastic foam molded portion and a viscoelastic energy attenuating foam insert portion, comprising:
positioning the viscoelastic energy attenuating foam insert portion on a flat surface, the insert having an array of vertical passages extending there-through;
placing a female mold of the seat cushion over the viscoelastic energy attenuating foam insert portion, and sealing the mold against the flat surface outside a perimeter edge of the foam insert portion, thereby defining a cavity bounded by the mold, the flat surface, and the viscoelastic energy attenuating foam insert portion; and
injecting a liquefied elastic foam into the cavity, thereby filling the cavity and the vertical passages in the insert with the elastic foam.
2. The insert molding process of claim 1 , wherein the vertical passages are cylindrical.
3. The insert molding process of claim 2 , further comprising filling the passages with elastic foam prior to sealing the mold to the flat surface.